Identifying associated systems such as advertising networks

ABSTRACT

Among other disclosure, a method includes receiving first electronic content configured for displaying a first page in a browser, the first electronic content including a document object model for the first page. Content in the document object model is identified as corresponding to at least one advertisement on the first page, the first page further including page content. Information is extracted from the identified content to be used in identifying an advertising network system that the advertisement links to. An identity of the advertising network system is determined using the extracted information. Second electronic content is generated using the first electronic content and the determined identity of the advertising network system. A second page including the page content of the first page and the advertisement is generated and displayed. On the second page the advertisement is labeled with the determined identity of the advertising network system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to identifying an associated system.

BACKGROUND

In the online environment advertising has taken on a substantialpresence. One example of online advertising is that an advertisement isdisplayed as an identifiable portion or area on the screen, for examplein form of a banner or a box. The advertising content can be displayedon a screen where there is also other content.

Advertisement efforts can be evaluated. For example, ads that arepublished online, for example, sometimes take the form of one or morehyperlinks that the viewer can click on to get more information or topurchase the offered goods or services. These advertising clicks can beaggregated to measure whether the ad generates sufficient interest amongthe public or to determine advertisement popularity.

SUMMARY

The invention relates to identifying an associated system.

In a first aspect, a computer-implemented method for identifying to auser an advertising network system associated with an advertisementincludes receiving first electronic content configured for displaying afirst page in a browser, the first electronic content including adocument object model for the first page. The method includesidentifying content in the document object model as corresponding to atleast one advertisement on the first page, the first page furtherincluding page content. The method includes extracting information fromthe identified content to be used in identifying an advertising networksystem that the advertisement links to. The method includes determiningan identity of the advertising network system using the extractedinformation. The method includes generating second electronic contentusing the first electronic content and the determined identity of theadvertising network system. The method includes configuring a secondpage for display from the second electronic content. The method includesdisplaying the second page in the browser, the second page including thepage content of the first page and the advertisement, wherein on thesecond page the advertisement is labeled with the determined identity ofthe advertising network system.

Implementations can include any, all or none of the following features.The method can further include transmitting the second electroniccontent to a central reporting server. The method can further includefiltering user-identifying data from the second electronic content.

In a second aspect, a computer-implemented method for identifying anassociated system to a user includes receiving first electronic contentconfigured for displaying a first page. The method includes identifyingat least part of the first electronic content as corresponding to atleast one portion of the first page having an associated system. Themethod includes determining an identity of the associated system usingthe identified part of the first electronic content. The method includesdisplaying a second page in which the portion of the first page islabeled with the determined identity of the associated system. Theportion of the first page can include an advertisement. The associatedsystem can be an advertising network system that the advertisement linksto. The first electronic content can include a document object model forthe first page, and the part can be an element of the document objectmodel. The element can be at least one selected from the groupconsisting of: a link, a tag, a frame, and combinations thereof. Thesecond page can be displayed using second electronic content generatedusing the first electronic content and the determined identity of theassociated system. The second electronic content can be generated bymodifying a document object model of the first electronic content. Thesecond electronic content can be generated by generating a new documentobject model using the document object model of the first electroniccontent. The method can further include displaying the first page beforedisplaying the second page. The second page can be displayed uponrequest by a user to whom the first page is displayed. The second pagecan be generated while the first page is displayed by placing thedetermined identity on the first page. The first page can be generatedusing a first canvas in a browser, and the second page can be displayedby generating a second canvas in the browser and overwriting the firstcanvas with the second canvas. The method can further include presentingan identification area listing any associated system detected for thefirst page. The identification area can be presented using at least oneof a pop-up, an information bubble, an iframe, an overlay, or a browserstatus bar message. Another portion of the first electronic contentcorresponding to a page portion can not initially be identified ashaving another associated system, and the method can further includegenerating a report for causing contents of the other portion of thefirst electronic content to be identified as corresponding to the pageportion with the other associated system. Generating the report caninclude receiving a selection of the page portion by a user, identifyingthe other portion of the first electronic content as corresponding tothe page portion, and including the identified other portion of thefirst electronic content in the report. Generating the report canfurther include visualizing a document object model of the first pageand, upon the user selecting the page portion, visualizing the otherportion of the first electronic content, wherein the report allows theuser to identify the other associated system based on the visualizedother portion of the first electronic content. Multiple associatedsystems can be identified for the first page, and the method can furtherinclude displaying a list on the first page, the list includingdetermined identities for the multiple associated systems. The methodcan further include transmitting the second electronic content to acentral reporting server. The method can further include filteringuser-identifying data from the second electronic content.

In a third aspect, a computer program product is tangibly embodied in acomputer-readable medium and includes instructions that, when executed,generate on a display device a graphical user interface for identifyingan associated system to a user. The graphical user interface includes apage content area presenting content of a page, wherein at least oneportion of the page has an associated system. The graphical userinterface includes a label that the graphical user interface adds to thecontent of the page in the page content area, the label associated withthe portion and indicating the associated system as having beenidentified for the portion.

Implementations can include any, all or none of the following features.The portion of the page can be an advertisement and the associatedsystem can be an advertising network system that the advertisement linksto. The graphical user interface can further include a selectivelydisplayable area listing any associated system identified for anyportion of the page.

Implementations can provide any, all or none of the followingadvantages. Online advertising can be improved. Advertisement presencefrom an advertising network can be detected and visualized to a user. Amarket share of an advertising network can be determined or estimated.Advertisement click data can be aggregated in a form that protects theprivacy of individual users while providing useful information onadvertisement popularity, value and advertising network usage.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a visual display containing a browser.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a user reporting an undetected advertisement.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a visual display containing a report form.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a flowchart of a method for detecting anadvertisement and identifying an advertising network.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing system that can be used inconnection with computer-implemented methods described in this document.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a visual display 100 containing a browser 102. The browser102 currently displays a page 104 containing content, both in the formof main substantive content and one or more related advertisements. Inthis example, the content of the page 104 includes an advertisement 106,an advertisement 108 and an advertisement 110. Advertisements that aredisplayed on pages, such as advertisements 106, 108 and 110, can beprovided by an advertising network that is separate from a system thatprovides, or is responsible for, the main substantive content of thepage. An advertising network can be a redirecting system between aclient and an ultimate destination webpage. The advertising network canprovide the content of advertisements that are displayed on a pageaccording to an advertising agreement, to name one example. In otherimplementations, the page 104 can include other content, and may notinclude any advertising content.

In some situations, it can be useful for third parties to learn theidentity of an advertising network that is providing content for one ormore advertisements located on a page. The page 104 is here presented bya system that detects the one or more underlying advertising networksand indicates the one or more networks to a user. In this example, thatsystem has provided the page 104 with a header 112 that indicates theadvertising network that is providing the content for the advertisements106, 108 and 110. For example, the header 112 can be added to thewebpage 104 by an advertisement detection system. The advertisementdetection system here has determined that the advertisements 106, 108and 110 are advertisements and that the content for the advertisements106, 108 and 110 is provided by an advertising network that is herereferred to as ADSENSE. The advertisement detection system has insertedthe header 112 onto the page 104 to indicate that the advertisements106, 108 and 110 are advertisements and that the advertising networkproviding the content for the advertisements 106, 108 and 110 is calledADSENSE. Examples of how the detection can be performed will bedescribed below. In other implementations, content other than anadvertisement can be detected and/or labeled on a page.

The page 104 here also contains an advertisement 116, an advertisement118 and an advertisement 120. The advertisement detection system hasinserted a header 114 onto the page 104 to indicate that theadvertisements 116, 118 and 120 are advertisements and that theircontent is also provided by the ADSENSE advertising network.

The page 104 contains a link 124 and a list of links 128 that are alsoadvertisements. The advertisement detection system has thereforeidentified the advertising network that placed the link 124 and the listof links 128 on the webpage 104. The advertisement detection systemprogram has inserted a header 122 and a header 126 on the page 104 toindicate that the link 124 and the list of links 128 are advertisementsand that their content is provided by an advertising network that ishere referred to as LINKSHARE. In some implementations, the one or moreadvertisements, or elements being identified, can take the form of oneor more links, tags, frames or a combination thereof.

At the bottom of the browser 102, an advertisement detection system icon130 is displayed. The icon 130 can be associated with, and operativelyconnected to, an advertisement detection system program, to name oneexample. The icon 130 here indicates that advertisement detection systemprogram is running in the system that presents the browser 102. In someimplementations, when a user scrolls a cursor over the icon 130, aninformation box 132 will appear and indicate whether or not advertisingnetworks have been detected for any content on the page 104. As anotherexample, the information box 132 can automatically appear once theadvertisement detection system has completed searching foradvertisements on the webpage 104 and has added any headers to thewebpage 104. The information box 132 can be displayed in response to thesystem detecting one or more advertising networks. Accordingly, theappearance of information box 132 in some implementations can mark thetransition from displaying the original (un-marked) webpage and theresulting webpage that contains headers indicating detected advertisingnetworks.

The user can, for example, left click on the icon 130 to display aninformation box 134, for example in the form of a popup window. Here,the information box 134 lists the URL of the current page 104 and thename of one or more advertising networks that have been detected for thepage. Other information that can be listed in the information box 134 insome implementations includes the number of advertisements detected, thenumber of advertising networks detected, or a summary of the advertisingnetworks detection, to name a few examples. In some implementations, anidentification area such as the information box 134 can be presentedusing at least one of a pop-up, an information bubble, an iframe, anoverlay, or a browser status bar message, to name a few examples.

The user can, for example, right click on the icon 130 to display apull-down menu 136 with one or more user-selectable commands. Thepull-down menu 136 can be used to report undetected advertisingnetworks, for example to a central server or to another user or computersystem. For example, a user reviewing the page 104 may notice that anadvertisement on the page has not been detected by the system, or thatno advertising network has been detected for a particular advertisement,and the user may wish to report this so that the advertisement detectiontool can be updated or improved. In some implementations, theadvertisement detection system can automatically generate and send thereport once the user selects the “report undetected advertisingnetworks” option. In some implementations, the user can inputinformation into the report in order to aid in future advertisement andadvertising network detection. In other implementations, the icon 130can be used for reporting information other than undetected advertisingnetworks.

An advertising network can be detected in any of several ways. Forexample, the detection program can parse contents of an advertisementand compare them with contents of known advertisement networks in arepository. The best matching network in such a comparison can beregistered as the advertising network for the particular advertisementon the page. In other implementations the detection program can analyzeone or more navigation targets embedded in the advertisement, such as bydetermining a resource address that the browser 102 will be directed toif the user clicks on, or otherwise activates, the advertisement. Inother implementations, the detection program can analyze scripts,executable code, embeds, or multimedia contents such as audio or videoassociated with the advertisement, to name a few examples.

FIG. 2 shows the visual display 100 and the browser 102 from FIG. 1. Theweb browser 102 displays a webpage 204 that contains one or moreadvertisements. In this example, the content of webpage 204 includes anadvertisement 206, an advertisement 208 and an advertisement 210. Theadvertisement detection system icon 130 located at the bottom of thebrowser 102 indicates that advertisement detection system program isrunning in the system that presents the browser 102. In this example,there is no header located above the advertisements 206, 208 and 210.Since the advertisement detection system program is running, but has notinserted a header above the advertisements 206, 208 and 210, thisindicates that the advertisement detection system has not identified theadvertisements 206, 208 and 210 as advertisements.

A user who is viewing the page 204 can report the undetectedadvertisements, for example to a central server or to another user orcomputer system. First, the user can put the advertisement detectionsystem into a report undetected advertisements mode. In someimplementations, this can be done by right clicking on the icon 130 todisplay a pull-down menu similar to the pull-down menu 136 from FIG. 1and selecting the “report undetected advertising networks” option. Insome implementations, the user could press a specific key-combination orselect a command from the browser 102's main menu in order to initiatethe report undetected advertisements mode.

Once the user has initiated the report undetected advertisements mode,the user can use the cursor to highlight one or more elements on thepage 204, for example by clicking on the elements. In this example, theuser has highlighted the advertisement 208. In other implementations,content other than an advertisement can be selected by the user. In someimplementations, once the user has highlighted one or more elements, apanel 212 appears at the bottom of the browser 102. The panel 212 can beused to display the DOM (document object model) tree of the highlightedarea. The user can then right click on the highlighted advertisement 208to display a panel 214 and a menu 216. The panel 214 can be populatedwith html code, script code (such as, for example, JavaScript or anotherscripting language), or other embedded executable code of thehighlighted advertisement 208. The user can then read the code in thepanel 214 to see if the code indicates what advertising network hasprovided the advertisement 208. The user can then select all or some ofthe code, such as, for example, html code, in the panel 214 and select a“Generate Report” command from the menu 216. In some implementations,the advertisement detection system can automatically generate and sendthe report once the user selects the “Generate Report” option. In otherimplementations, the advertisement detection system can automaticallypopulate some of the fields in the report, and the user can inputadditional information in order to aid in future advertisement andadvertising network detection. Information that can be automaticallypopulated in the report can include the URL of the webpage 204, selectedcode from the panel 214, the full code of the webpage 204, and, in someembodiments, the user name of the user or an ID value associated withthe user. Once the report has been generated and the user has finishedinputting additional information, the user can submit the report to, forexample, a central server, or in some implementations, to another useror computer system.

In some embodiments, it is preferred that the user name of the user, IDand/or other personally-identifying information related to the user canbe filtered (at the report generation step and/or at the central server)to enhance the privacy of users while providing useful advertisingnetwork reporting information to the central server.

FIG. 3 shows a visual display 300 containing a report form 302. Thereport form 302 is an example of a form that can be generated by anadvertisement detection system, such as that mentioned in thedescriptions of FIGS. 1 and 2. In some implementations, the report form302 can be generated when the “report undetected advertising networks”option of the pull-down menu 136 from FIG. 1 is selected or when the“Generate Report” option of the menu 216 from FIG. 2 is selected. Here,the report form 302 is used to report advertisements that have not beendetected by advertisement detection system so that the advertisementdetection can be updated or improved. In some implementations, thereport form 302 could be used to report advertisements that have beendetected, where the advertising network responsible for providing theadvertisement has not been identified or has been incorrectlyidentified. In other implementations, content other than anadvertisement can be reported using the report form 302.

In the example depicted in FIG. 2, the report form 302 contains a userfield 304. The user field 304 contains the username of the user who isreporting the undetected advertisement. This way the user can becontacted later. Here, the user field 304 has been automaticallypopulated with the current user's username. In some implementations,other examples of user identification that can be used to populate theuser field 304 include employee id number, e-mail address or name. Insome implementations, the user can input or change the value of the userfield 304.

As noted previously, in some embodiments the user field 304 and relateduser data can be filtered to enhance the privacy of users of the system.For example, user field 304 can be filtered out completely, can beassociated with a unique report ID that is not associated with the user,can be filtered out upon aggregation of data for ad network reporting,can be maintained or excluded based on user privacy and/or reportingpreferences, or can be stored separately in a time-limited,identity-filtered or restricted-access fashion.

The report form 302 contains a URL field 306. Here, the URL field 306 isautomatically populated with the URL of the page being reported. In someimplementations, the user can input the URL of the page being reported.

The report form 302 contains an Ad Network Name field 308. In somesituations, the user may be able to determine the identity of theadvertising network that is responsible for providing the content of theadvertisement being reported by looking at, for example, the html codeof the advertisement. The user may recognize a link as belonging to aparticular advertising network or may be able to identify theadvertising network in some other manner. In these instances, the usercan input the name of the advertising network into the Ad Network Namefield 308. In some implementations, if the user is unable to identifythe advertising network responsible for providing the content of theadvertisement being reported, the user can leave the Ad Network Namefield 308 empty. In implementations where the reporting does not relateto an advertisement, the field 308 can receive information about asystem that is associated with content on the page.

In the implementation shown, the report form 302 contains an Ad Codefield 310. Here, the Ad Code field 310 is automatically populated withthe html code of the advertisement being reported. In otherimplementations, the Ad Code field 310 can be populated with scriptcode, other embedded executable code, or a combination of various typesof code. In some implementations, this code represents the code that hadbeen selected by the user in the panel 214 in FIG. 2. The code of theadvertisement being reported can be used to confirm or reject theidentity of the advertising network reported by the user in the AdNetwork Name field 308. If the user has not entered a value or hasentered an incorrect advertising network in the Ad Network Name field308, the advertisement code can be used to determine the identity of theadvertising network that is responsible for providing the content of theadvertisement being reported. In implementations where the reportingdoes not relate to an advertisement, the field 310 can be populated withcode for content that has been identified on the page.

In the implementation shown, the report form 302 contains a Full HTMLsource of page field 314. The field 314 provides access to the full htmlsource code of the page that contains the advertisement being reported.Here, the field 314 has options to show or hide the HTML source code ofthe page. In this example, the HTML source code is currently hidden. Insome implementations, the full HTML source code of the page can be usedto determine the identity of the advertising network that is responsiblefor providing the content of the advertisement being reported when thehtml code of the advertisement does not provide enough information toaccurately determine the identity of the advertising network.

If the page is not on an HTML network, but is, for example, part of amultimedia audio or video stream, embedded ads in a multi-player gamenetwork, or in broadcast media, reporting can be modified to representthe source location in a manner acceptable for such a network.

The report form 302 contains a Comments field 316. The user can use theComments field 316 to enter any additional information about theadvertisement being reported that may help in updating or improvingadvertisement detection. For example, the user could include informationabout the subject matter of the page, the subject matter of theadvertisement, an indication of how the advertising network (or otherassociated system) was identified, or other characteristics of the pageand advertisement.

The report form 302 contains a Submit button 318. Once the user hasfinished inputting any additional information into the report form 302that was not automatically populated, the user can click on the Submitbutton 318 to submit the report, for example to a central server or toanother user or computer system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for detecting one or moreadvertisements on a page and identifying the advertising network ornetworks that have provided the content for the one or more detectedadvertisements. In the example, the method 400, at 402, receives thecontent of a page. The method 400 can receive this content in the formof html code or in some other form. At 404, the method 400 identifiesthe presence of one or more advertisements on the received page. Inother implementations, content other than an advertisement can bedetected on a page.

At 406, the method 400 extracts the content of the one or moreidentified advertisements to be used in identifying the advertisingnetwork or networks that have provided the content for the one or moreidentified advertisements. At 408, the method 400 determines theidentity of the one or more advertising networks that have provided thecontent for the one or more identified advertisements.

The method 400, at 410, then generates a second page using the contentof the received page and the determined advertising network identity oridentities. At 412, the method 400 displays the second generated pagewith the advertising network identity displayed together with theoriginal content of the received page. In some implementations, theidentity of each advertising network can be displayed in a header aboveeach of the one or more identified advertisements, as shown in FIG. 1.In some implementations, the second generated page can be automaticallydisplayed. In some implementations, the second generated page can bedisplayed upon the request of a user. In some implementations, the firstreceived page is displayed before the second generated page isdisplayed. In some implementations, the first page is displayed bygenerating a first canvas in a browser. The second page is thendisplayed by generating a second canvas in the browser and overwritingthe first canvas with the second canvas. In some implementations, thesecond page is generated by modifying a document object model of thefirst page or by generating a new document object model using thedocument object model of the first page.

In some implementations, transmitting the second generated page can betransmitted to a central reporting server, for example over a networksuch as the internet. In so doing, user-identifying data can be filteredfrom the second generated page.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a generic computer system 500. Thesystem 500 can be used for the operations described in association withany of the computer-implement methods described previously, according toone implementation. The system 500 includes a processor 510, a memory520, a storage device 530, and an input/output device 540. Each of thecomponents 510, 520, 530, and 540 are interconnected using a system bus550. The processor 510 is capable of processing instructions forexecution within the system 500. In one implementation, the processor510 is a single-threaded processor. In another implementation, theprocessor 510 is a multi-threaded processor. The processor 510 iscapable of processing instructions stored in the memory 520 or on thestorage device 530 to display graphical information for a user interfaceon the input/output device 540.

The memory 520 stores information within the system 500. In oneimplementation, the memory 520 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 520 is a volatile memory unit. In anotherimplementation, the memory 520 is a non-volatile memory unit.

The storage device 530 is capable of providing mass storage for thesystem 500. In one implementation, the storage device 530 is acomputer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 530 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device.

The input/output device 540 provides input/output operations for thesystem 500. In one implementation, the input/output device 540 includesa keyboard and/or pointing device. In another implementation, theinput/output device 540 includes a display unit for displaying graphicaluser interfaces.

The features described can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or incombinations of them. The apparatus can be implemented in a computerprogram product tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, e.g.,in a machine-readable storage device, for execution by a programmableprocessor; and method steps can be performed by a programmable processorexecuting a program of instructions to perform functions of thedescribed implementations by operating on input data and generatingoutput. The described features can be implemented advantageously in oneor more computer programs that are executable on a programmable systemincluding at least one programmable processor coupled to receive dataand instructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a datastorage system, at least one input device, and at least one outputdevice. A computer program is a set of instructions that can be used,directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a certain activity orbring about a certain result. A computer program can be written in anyform of programming language, including compiled or interpretedlanguages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unitsuitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructionsinclude, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors ofany kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructionsand data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Theessential elements of a computer are a processor for executinginstructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data.Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled tocommunicate with, one or more mass storage devices for storing datafiles; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disksand removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and optical disks. Storagedevices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructionsand data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits).

To provide for interaction with a user, the features can be implementedon a computer having a display device such as a CRT (cathode ray tube)or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor for displaying information tothe user and a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse or atrackball by which the user can provide input to the computer.

The features can be implemented in a computer system that includes aback-end component, such as a data server, or that includes a middlewarecomponent, such as an application server or an Internet server, or thatincludes a front-end component, such as a client computer having agraphical user interface or an Internet browser, or any combination ofthem. The components of the system can be connected by any form ormedium of digital data communication such as a communication network.Examples of communication networks include, e.g., a LAN, a WAN, and thecomputers and networks forming the Internet.

The computer system can include clients and servers. A client and serverare generally remote from each other and typically interact through anetwork, such as the described one. The relationship of client andserver arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

A number of embodiments have been described. Nevertheless, it will beunderstood that various modifications may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, other embodimentsare within the scope of the following claims.

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying to a user anadvertising network system associated with an advertisement, the methodcomprising: receiving first electronic content configured for displayinga first page in a browser, the first electronic content including adocument object model for the first page; identifying content in thedocument object model as corresponding to at least one advertisement onthe first page, the first page further including page content;extracting information from the identified content to be used inidentifying an advertising network system that the advertisement linksto, wherein the advertising network system obtains the advertisement fordistribution on behalf of an advertiser and distributes theadvertisement; determining an identity of the advertising network systemusing the extracted information; generating second electronic contentusing the first electronic content and the determined identity of theadvertising network system; configuring a second page for display fromthe second electronic content; and displaying the second page in thebrowser, the second page including the page content of the first pageand the advertisement, wherein on the second page the advertisement islabeled with a label that is not displayed with the first page, thelabel including the determined identity of the advertising networksystem.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: transmitting the second electronic content to a centralreporting server.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: filtering user-identifying data from the second electroniccontent.
 4. A computer-implemented method for identifying an associatedsystem to a user, the method comprising: receiving first electroniccontent configured for displaying a first page; identifying at leastpart of the first electronic content as corresponding to at least oneportion of the first page having an associated system that obtains atleast the identified part of the first electronic content fordistribution on behalf of a content provider and distributes theidentified part of the first electronic content; determining an identityof the associated system using the identified part of the firstelectronic content; and displaying a second page in which at least theportion of the first page is displayed and labeled with a label that isnot displayed with the first page, the label including the determinedidentity of the associated system.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 4, wherein the portion of the first page includes anadvertisement.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, whereinthe associated system is an advertising network system that theadvertisement links to.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 4,wherein the first electronic content includes a document object modelfor the first page, and wherein the part is an element of the documentobject model.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein theelement is at least one selected from the group consisting of: a link, atag, a frame, and combinations thereof.
 9. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 4, wherein the second page is displayed using secondelectronic content generated using the first electronic content and thedetermined identity of the associated system.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the second electroniccontent is generated by modifying a document object model of the firstelectronic content.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9,wherein the second electronic content is generated by generating a newdocument object model using the document object model of the firstelectronic content.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 4,further comprising displaying the first page before displaying thesecond page.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, whereinthe second page is displayed upon request by a user to whom the firstpage is displayed.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12,wherein the second page is generated while the first page is displayedby placing the label including the determined identity on the firstpage.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the firstpage is generated using a first canvas in a browser, and wherein thesecond page is displayed by generating a second canvas in the browserand overwriting the first canvas with the second canvas.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising presenting anidentification area listing any associated system detected for the firstpage.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein theidentification area is presented using at least one of a pop-up, aninformation bubble, an iframe, an overlay, or a browser status barmessage.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, whereinanother portion of the first electronic content corresponding to a pageportion is not initially identified as having another associated system,further comprising generating a report for causing contents of the otherportion of the first electronic content to be identified ascorresponding to the page portion with the other associated system. 19.The computer-implemented method of claim 18, wherein generating thereport comprises receiving a selection of the page portion by a user,identifying the other portion of the first electronic content ascorresponding to the page portion, and including the identified otherportion of the first electronic content in the report.
 20. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein generating the reportfurther comprises displaying a document object model of the first pageand, upon the user selecting the page portion, displaying the otherportion of the first electronic content, wherein the report allows theuser to identify the other associated system based on the displayedother portion of the first electronic content by entering anidentification of the other associated system.
 21. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein multiple associatedsystems are identified for the first page, further comprising displayinga list on the first page, the list including determined identities forthe multiple associated systems.
 22. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 4, further comprising: transmitting the second electronic contentto a central reporting server.
 23. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 22, further comprising: filtering user-identifying data from thesecond electronic content.
 24. A computer program product tangiblyembodied in a machine-readable storage device, the computer programproduct including instructions that, when executed, generate on adisplay device a graphical user interface for identifying an associatedsystem to a user, the graphical user interface comprising: a pagecontent area presenting content of a page, wherein at least one portionof the page has an associated system that obtains the at least oneportion for distribution on behalf of a content provider and distributesthe at least one portion; and a label that the graphical user interfaceadds to the content of the page in the page content area, the labelassociated with the portion and indicating the associated system ashaving been identified for the portion.
 25. The computer program productof claim 24, wherein the portion of the page is an advertisement and theassociated system is an advertising network system that theadvertisement links to.
 26. The computer program product of claim 24,wherein the graphical user interface further includes a selectivelydisplayable area listing any associated system identified for anyportion of the page.
 27. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the advertising network system is configured to distributeadvertisements on behalf of multiple different advertisers forpublication on one or more of the first page and other pages, andwherein the advertising network system obtains the advertisement fromone of the advertisers.
 28. The computer-implemented method of claim 27,wherein the advertisement as distributed by the advertising networksystem includes an identity of the advertiser.